Systems and methods for automatic scheduling of a workforce

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for scheduling a workforce. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving a shift activity template; receiving an association between the shift activity template and at least one worker; and scheduling a plurality of schedulable objects. The scheduling is performed in accordance with a workload forecast and schedule constraints. Each of the schedulable objects is based on the shift activity template. The shift activity template describes a worker activity performed during a shift. The template has range of start times and a variable length for the activity. The activity is associated with a queue.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No.61/256,579, entitled “Systems and Methods for Flexible ActivityHopping;” U.S. Patent Application No. 61/256,586, entitled “Work Flowand User Interface for Implementing Time Banking Within a Work ForceOptimization Software Suite;” and U.S. Patent Application No.61/256,599, entitled “Workflow and Algorithm for Workflow BasedForecasting and Scheduling,” each file Oct. 30, 2009, the disclosures ofwhich are expressly incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND

Many of today's contact centers use skill-based routing, where contactsare queued and distributed to agents according to agent skills. In someskill-based routing environments, it is desirable to assign amulti-skilled agent to service all queues for which the agent has theappropriate skill. In other skill-based routing environments, it isdesirable to assign a multi-skilled agent to service a specific queue,or queues, for which the agent has the appropriate skill.

The second option, called “queue hopping” is usually less efficient.However, there are a number of reasons why queue hopping might beappropriate for a call center. Some of the reasons include: the abilityto track exact capacity for specific queues at specific times;scheduling solid blocks of scheduled time for particular queues reducesthe cost of agent context switching among queues; limitations in contactrouting technology or in workstation application software; and theability to move low-skilled agents to an exceptionally high volumequeue.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods are disclosed for scheduling a workforce. In oneimplementation, a method of workforce scheduling includes receiving ashift activity template describing at least one worker activityperformed during a shift, the template having a range of start times anda variable length for the at least one activity, the at least oneactivity being associated with a queue that has varying incoming volumesat different times and varying goals such that some work associated withthe queue needs to be completed before other work associated with thequeue, the shift activity having at least one activity being designatedas a flexible activity; receiving an association between the shiftactivity template and at least one worker, and scheduling a plurality ofschedulable objects using heuristic searches in accordance with aworkload forecast and schedule constraints, each of the schedulableobjects being based on the shift activity template.

In some implementations, a method of workforce scheduling includesreceiving a shift activity template describing at least one workeractivity performed during a shift, the template having a range of starttimes and a variable length for the at least one activity; receiving anassociation between the shift activity template and at least one worker,defining a time bank of weekly target hours for the at least one workerover a predetermined period; and scheduling a plurality of schedulableobjects associated with the at least one worker in accordance with aworkload forecast, schedule constraints and the time bank.

In yet other implementations, a method of workforce scheduling includesreceiving a shift activity template describing at least one workeractivity performed during a shift, the template having a range of starttimes and a variable length for the at least one activity, the at leastone activity being associated with a first queue that is based on asecond queue; receiving an association between the shift activitytemplate and at least one worker, and scheduling a plurality ofschedulable objects in accordance with a workload forecast of the firstqueue and a schedule of the second queue.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with referenceto the following drawings. The components in the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a contact center environment 100.

FIG. 2 is a dataflow diagram showing one embodiment of a system (200)for automatic scheduling of a workforce.

FIG. 3 shows a set of entities, or objects, and the interrelationshipsbetween them, used by one embodiment of a scheduler (FIG. 2) thatsupports automatic scheduling of a workforce.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing one representation of avariable-length activity template (FIG. 2).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for one embodiment of a method for automaticscheduling of a workforce.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for one embodiment of scheduler (FIG. 2) forvariable-length activities.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are dataflow diagrams of an example scenario in whichvariable-length activities are scheduled.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method for providing activity hopping.

FIG. 9 illustrates an iterative process for forecasting and scheduling.

FIG. 10 illustrates target queues within tiers that are processed aspart of the forecasting and scheduling of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 illustrates chain proportion values that are used to modify thetarget queues of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing time banking.

FIG. 13 is a hardware block diagram of a general-purpose computer thatcan be used to implement various embodiments of systems and methods forautomatic scheduling of a workforce.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a contact center environment 100. Contactcenter 100 is staffed by agents who handle incoming and/or outgoingcontacts. Although the traditional and most common form of contact is byphone, other types of contacts can be used, such as text chat, webcollaboration, email, and fax. An agent workspace includes an agentphone 110 and a workstation computer 120. A network 130 connects one ormore of the workstations 120.

A contact router 140 distributes or routes contacts (incoming oroutgoing) to an agent position. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)calls and computer-based contacts (e.g., chat, email) are routed overone or more data networks, and distributed over network 130 to one ofthe agent workstations 120. Contact router 140 may include an automaticcall distributor (ACD) 150 to route phone contacts. The embodimentsdescribed herein will refer to ACD 150 instead of contact router 140,but analogous contact router actions and operations are intended to becaptured by this disclosure. Note that a predictive dialer (not shown)could be used for directing outbound calls to agents for handling.

If an agent is not available to handle a particular call, ACD 150 putsthe call into a queue, which effectively places the caller on hold. Whenan agent is available, ACD 150 connects the outside trunk line 160carrying the phone call to the trunk line 170 of a selected agent.

When an agent is ready to handle contacts, the agent first logs into ACD150. This login notifies ACD 150 that the agent is available to takecalls. An agent's ACD state changes throughout the workday, as the agentperforms work activities such as handling calls, performing after-callwork, and taking breaks. An example list of states includes available,busy, after-call work, and unavailable.

While handling a contact, the agent interacts with one or moreapplications 180 running on workstation 120. By way of example,workstation applications 180 could provide the agent with access tocustomer records, product information, ordering status, and transactionhistory. The applications 180 may access one or more business databases(not shown) via the network 130.

Contact center 100 also includes a work force management system (WFMS)190. WFMS 190 performs many functions. One such function is providing acontact center supervisor or manager with information about agents andcontacts, both historical and real-time. Another function is supplyingthe supervisor with information on how well each agent complies withcontact center policies. Yet another function is calculating staffinglevels and creating agent schedules based on historical patterns ofincoming contacts. The functionality of the entire work force managementsystem 190 is typically divided among several applications, some ofwhich have a user interface component, and WFMS 190 comprises the suiteof applications.

In the environment described above, the workers assigned to shifts arecontact center agents. However, the scheduling methods and systemsdescribed herein are also applicable to scheduling other kinds ofworkers in other types of work environments. Therefore, the remainingembodiments will refer to workers rather than agents.

FIG. 2 is a dataflow diagram showing one embodiment of a system (200)for automatic scheduling of a workforce. A user interacts with awork-rule user interface component 210 of WFMS 190 to define work rulessuch as maximum shift length, allowable shift start times, and breakrequirements. A user also interacts with a template user interfacecomponent 220 to define one or more variable-length activity templates230. A variable-length activity template 230 describes a worker activitythat can vary in length. Although shown as two separate components inFIG. 2, in another embodiment the template user interface 220 andwork-rule interface 230 are combined into a single user interface.Variable-length activity templates 230 are provided as input to ascheduler 240, which produces a schedule 250 that attempts to optimizegoals 260 while meeting a workload forecast 270 and a set of work ruleconstraints 280.

FIG. 3 shows a set of entities, or objects, and the interrelationshipsbetween them, used by one embodiment of a scheduler 240 that supportsautomatic scheduling of a workforce. Each worker 310 is associated withone or more shifts 320, where a shift 320 is described by a time rangeand a day (330). As can be seen in FIG. 3, a worker 310 can have morethan one shift 320, and a time range-day 330 can be associated with morethan one shift 320 (e.g., different workers). However, a particularshift 320 is specific to a worker and to a time range-day (e.g. a shiftrepresenting “John Doe on Monday 9 AM-5 PM”).

A variable-length activity template 230, which is associated with atleast one worker 310 and at least one shift 320, describes an activityrelated to servicing a particular contact router queue 340, and theallowable time slots during the shift 320 when the activity can bescheduled. The duration of the queue-specific activity is flexiblerather than fixed. Scheduler 240 creates one or more schedulable objects350 based on each template 230, such that attributes in a schedulableobject 350 are initialized from corresponding attributes in the template230. Each schedulable object 350 represents an instance of thetemplate's activity which can be assigned somewhere during the shift320.

Scheduler 240 also creates a set, or domain, of bindings 360 for eachshift 320. A binding 360 represents a particular time slot in a shift320. As can be seen in FIG. 3, a schedulable object 350 can possibly bebound to more than one binding 360. Scheduler 240 chooses one optimalbinding 360 for each schedulable object 350. By selecting a binding fora schedulable object, scheduler 240, in effect, assigns the workactivity for that one object (derived from a template) to the time slotspecified in the binding. A person of ordinary skill in the art shouldbe familiar with the concepts of schedulable objects, binding domains,and optimal binding.

As described earlier, the duration of the activity in template 230 isvariable. Without a template for this variation, a contact centersupervisor wishing to schedule variable-length queue-specific activitieswould need to define a large number of shifts (e.g., one shift for Q1activity=1 hour and Q2 activity=4 hours, another shift for Q1 activity=2hours and Q2 activity=4 hours, and yet another for Q1 activity=2 hoursand Q2 activity=3 hours, etc.) The use of template 230 allows thesupervisor to instead define a small number of variable-length activitytemplates 230 to capture the possible combinations of queue-specificactivities with varying length. The scheduler 240 then uses thetemplates 230 to create a collection of objects 350 that, in conjunctionwith the set of bindings 360, represents this variation in duration. Thevariation in duration of schedulable objects 350 allows scheduler 240 toproduce a more optimal schedule. The process of creating schedulableobjects 350, creating bindings 360, and choosing optimal bindings willbe discussed further in connection with FIGS. 5-7.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing one representation of avariable-length activity template 230. In this embodiment,variable-length activity template 230 includes the following attributes:an activity 410; one or more queues 420; a start type 430; a start timerange 440; a period 450; a count 460; and a duration 470. Activity 410represents the expected activity to be performed during the shiftassociated with this template 230. In one embodiment, activities 410include non-work activities related to a shift such as lunch and break.In another embodiment, activity 410 is a work activity associated with aspecific queue. In yet another embodiment, activity 410 can be either ashift activity or a queue-specific activity.

Start type 430 and start time 440 define a range of start times. Ifstart type 430 is Absolute, start time 440 simply specifies a range ofstart times for activity 410 (e.g., 11:00 AM-12:00 PM). If start type430 is Relative, then start time 440 specifies a range of start timesfor activity 410, and this range is relative to the start time of theshift associated with this template 230. For example, a relative starttime 440 of 0:30-1:00, in combination with an associated shift having astart time of 9 AM, specifies that activity 410 can be scheduled tostart between 9:30 AM and 10:00 AM.

The total length of time that this activity that can be scheduled,during the entire shift, is specified in one of two ways. Using thefirst mechanism, count 460 represents the number of periods that can bescheduled, each having length 450. Count 460 is expressed as a range(minimum/maximum). The activity can be scheduled as non-consecutiveblocks within the shift. For example, a template with Count=1-4 andPeriod=0:30 can be used to schedule 1, 2, 3, or 4 half-hour blocks forthe activity. The length of the activity is flexible, from 0:30 to 2:00,and so is the scheduling of the individual blocks within the shift.

Using the second mechanism, duration 470 specifies a range(minimum/maximum) of total activity time, where the granularity of theduration is period 450. The time for the activity is consecutive. Forexample, a template with Period=0:30 and Duration=0:30-2:00 can be usedto schedule an activity having length 0:30, or an activity having length1:00, or an activity having length 1:30, or an activity having length2:00. The length of the activity is flexible, from 0:30 to 2:00, but theactivity is scheduled as a single block within the shift.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for one embodiment of a method (500) for automaticscheduling of a workforce. At block 510, one or more shift descriptions(320) are received. Next (block 520), one or more variable-lengthactivity templates (230) are received. At block 530, at least oneassociation between variable-length activity templates 230 and shift 320is received. At block 540, schedule 250 is produced based on thereceived information, in accordance with constraints 280 and goals 260.As will be described in further detail in connection with FIGS. 6-7,schedule 250 is determined by generating schedulable objects and thenselecting optimal bindings for these objects.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for one embodiment of scheduler 240 that supportsautomatic scheduling of a workforce. The processing iterates through anouter loop for each worker 310, and an inner loop for eachvariable-length activity template 230. At block 610, schedulable objects350 are created from the current variable-length activity template 230associated with the current worker 310. One object 350 is created forevery period 450 in the template 230, which is either given directly bycount 460, or is derived as duration (470) divided by period (450).

The creation of schedulable objects 350 from variable-length activitytemplate 230 can be seen in the example scenario illustrated in FIGS. 7Aand 7B. In this example scenario, as shown in FIG. 7A, schedule 250includes a single shift 320J (“Monday 9 AM-5 PM”). A worker 310J(“John”) is associated with this shift 320J and with a variable-lengthactivity template 230S (“Sales_Q”).

From variable-length activity template 230SS, scheduler 240 creates aset of schedulable objects 350 associated with the template. In thisexample, the template-shift association is indirect, through atemplate-worker relationship and a worker-shift relationship. Otherembodiments are also contemplated, for example a direct associationbetween template and shift, or another indirect relationship such astemplate-worker, worker-shift, and shift-day.

The number of objects 350 created is equal to the number of periods inan activity of maximum length. In this scenario, variable-lengthactivity template 230S uses the more flexible mechanism to define totalactivity length, using period 450 and count 460 rather than period 450and duration 470. Thus, the number of periods is given directly by count460 in the template. When the alternative mechanism of period 450 andduration 470 is used, the number of periods is equal to maximum durationdivided by period length.

The activity attributes of the schedulable objects 350A-D is derivedfrom the corresponding attribute in variable-length activity template230. The duration of each object 350 is equal to the period 450specified in the template. Thus in this example scenario there are fourschedulable objects (350A-D) each having a “Sales_Q” activity and aduration of 0:30.

Returning to the flowchart in FIG. 6, after schedulable objects arecreated in block 610, processing continues at block 620, where a set, ordomain, of potential bindings is created for the just-createdschedulable objects 350. The bindings 360 in the domain are based onshift attributes such as start time and length/end time, and templateattributes such as start type and start time range. Creation of bindings360 will now be discussed in connection with FIG. 7B.

A schedulable object 350 is associated with a shift 320, which has astart time and an end time. Bindings 360 correspond to time slots withina shift that can be assigned to an activity. In the example scenario ofFIG. 7B, there are seven half-hour time slots (710-780) between 10:00 AMand 2:00 PM. The attributes of variable-length activity template 230S,in combination with shift 320J, dictate that the bindings 360 start asearly as the 10:00 AM time slot (710), since the shift start time is9:00 AM, the template start time range is 1:00, and the template starttype attribute is Relative. The template and shift attributes alsodictate that the latest binding is the 1 PM time slot (780),corresponding to a maximum duration shift activity (2:00, or 4*0:30)starting at the latest time possible (11:30).

In this example, total activity length is defined using period 450 andcount 460 (rather than period 450 and duration 470). Therefore, the setof bindings (360A-D) for each object (350A-D) is the same, and comprisesconsecutive slots 710-780. Although the slots are consecutive, thebinding for each object is independent of the others: slot 710 can beselected as the optimal binding for 350A, and slot 730 can be selectedas the optimal binding for 350B.

Bindings for another embodiment, which defines total activity lengthusing period 450 and duration 470, are created as follows. As explainedabove, such an activity has a flexible length, but should fillconsecutive time slots. In this embodiment, bindings for a later objectare dependent on previously created objects. On creation of the firstschedulable object 350 (block 610), the bindings 360 for that object areset (block 620) to include all consecutive time slots (in this scenario,slots 710-780). An optimal binding 360 is selected for that first object350 in block 650. Bindings 360 for each subsequently created objects 360are constrained to be adjacent to the objects for which a binding hasbeen selected.

Returning to the flowchart in FIG. 6, after schedulable objects 350 andbindings 360 are created in blocks 610 and 620, processing continues atblock 630, where the number of objects created is compared to theminimum for count 460 in the current template 230. If the number ofcreated objects is more than the minimum, then at block 640 anadditional binding 360, representing No_Binding, is added to the domainof each object that is not required to fulfill the minimum count. Forexample, if the minimum is 2 and the maximum is 5, then of the 5 createdobjects, No_Binding is added to the domain of 3 of the objects, but notto the other 2 objects. In the scenario of FIG. 7B, schedulable objects350A-D each include a binding representing No_Binding (360E-F,respectively).

Creation of schedulable objects 350 and bindings 360 in blocks 610-630(and in some cases, block 640) is repeated for each template 230, andthen for each worker 310. Thus, when block 650 is reached, objects andbindings have been created for all variable-length activity templates230 associated with all workers 310.

At block 650 the optimal binding 360 for each of the schedulable objects350 is selected. The techniques that schedulers use to produce anoptimal schedule for a given set of inputs (workload, constraints, andgoals) should be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art.Such techniques include, but are not limited to, local search, simulatedannealing, and heuristics. The use of schedulable objects and bindingsshould also be understood by such a person.

Functions of the work force management system (WFMS) 190 related toscheduling variable-length activities have now been described inconnection with FIGS. 1-7. In addition or alternatively to the above,the scheduler 240 may provide for activity hopping by employees.Activity hopping functionality schedules employees to work for specificperiods of time on specific queues during their shifts. A schedulercomponent determines how much time to spend on each queue hoppingactivity, and when these activities should occur in the schedule. Here,the queue has varying incoming volumes at different times and varyinggoals such that some work associated with the queue needs to becompleted before other work associated with the queue. For example,assume there are two activities—Sales and Billing—that agents have to bescheduled for, with Sales being the primary activity. With queue hoppingyou can schedule flexible duration Billing activity on top of the baseactivity, Sales, and a scheduling algorithm will determine how manyhours of Billing activity to schedule and when they should occur duringthe shift.

Activity hopping is often implemented in back office operations for anumber of reasons. First, while contact centers have sophisticatedrouting engines such as Automatic Call Distributors (ACD) that can routedifferent call types to agents based on their individual skills,however, back offices may have less capable routing systems.Additionally, some back office tasks such as mail processing cannot beindividually routed.

Second, in the contact center, systems like ACDs provide managers theability to track what work agents are doing and to see when they areidle. In the back office, queue-hopping schedules can allow managers totrack what employees are doing in various parts of the day, and, if theshifts are created without primary activities, then managers will alsohave visibility into when employees are idle. This increased andalternative usage has given rise to a usability enhancements, andscheduling search and scoring algorithms.

Referring now to FIG. 8, in some implementations, the scheduler 240 maybegin to derive a schedule at 800. In so doing, the scheduler 240utilize heuristic searches to work through work through the large numberof all possible counts, start times, and activities of employees. Theheuristic searches make it possible to reduce the time to derive anoptimal schedule in a reasonable amount of time. The scheduler 240 mayimplement, e.g., four types of searches, each described in more detailbelow.

In a quick search 802, for each Shift Activity, Maximum Countschedulable objects (variables) is created. Each schedulable object mayhave a list of possibilities (a domain) consisting of everystart-time/activity pair given the start time window defined in theShift Activity, the Shift Length, the list of flexible activitiesdefined in the Shift Activity, and the skills that the Employeecontains. Additionally, the possible start times may be restricted suchthat each Activity will block into the Shift.

For example, assume that employee A has an eight hour shift thatcontains a shift activity with the following attributes:

Length: 1 hour

Start Window: Anytime

Activities: Mail Processing, Scanning, Proof Reading

Minimum Count: 5

Maximum Count: 10

As such, employee A has the skills to work the mail processing andscanning activities.

In this case, eight schedulable objects are created as that the maximumcount that can actually fit into the Shift's length. Each schedulingobject would have a list of: 2 (the number of possible activities)*7(the number of possible start times given blocks of 1 hour length)=14possibilities:

Mail Processing starting 0 hours into the Shift

Scanning starting 0 hours into the Shift

Mail Processing starting 1 hour into the Shift

Scanning starting 1 hours into the Shift

Mail Processing starting 2 hours into the Shift

Scanning starting 2 hours into the Shift

. . .

Mail Processing starting 7 hours into the Shift

Scanning starting 7 hours into the Shift

Additionally, three of the schedulable objects may also include the “NotAssigned” possibility reflecting the fact the minimum count of five. Inother words, five of the Activities must be scheduled, but the lastthree may or may not be scheduled depending on if there is work to do.Given these schedulable objects and lists of possibilities, a searchalgorithm that may be used is:

-   -   1. order the scheduling objects such that the non-required ones        are first    -   2. for each scheduling object        -   schedule using existing local search and scoring to optimize            work rules and service goal scores            -   if a non required is assigned, replace it with a                required                This may be done for each employee and shift in various                existing orders.

The above search may be performed each time a shift is created toquickly find placements for each of the shift's activities. If anemployee can work many possible activities, the list of possibilitiescan be long; therefore, e.g., the first three activities may be selectedrandomly or selected based on a largest backlog.

In some implementations, a chronological search 804 starts with the sameschedulable objects and list of possibilities as the quick search 802,above, but applies different orderings and filters. For example, theflexible schedulable objects may be cleared for all Employees andShifts. This search may be performed for each Employee and Shift, asfollows:

1. for each possible start time in chronological order (0 hours, 1hours, 2 hours, etc. in the example above)

-   -   a. choose a non required scheduling object if they are not        already assigned (or not assigned)    -   b. filter the list of possibilities for that scheduling object        such that it only contains the start time above    -   c. schedule using existing local search and scoring to optimize        work rules and service goal scores    -   d. if an optional scheduling object is bound, replace it with a        required        Finally, the resultant “best” schedule found may be compared        with the initial schedule before clearing. If the initial        schedule was superior in score, it is restored. The        chronological ordering addresses the case where the zero        principal component analysis (PCA) heuristic was locally optimal        but leading us to a globally not optimal schedule.

In some implementations, a activity ordering search 806 starts with thesame schedulable objects and list of possibilities as the quick search802, above, but applies different orderings and filters. The flexibleschedulable objects are cleared for all Employees and Shifts. Thissearch 806 is done for each employee and shift, as follows:

1. Create a list of all possible activity orderings. For this example,if Employee A has 3 skills, so in total there would be 6 orderings:

Mail, Scan, Proof

Mail, Proof, Scan

Scan, Mail, Proof

Scan, Proof, Mail

Proof, Mail, Scan

Proof, Scan, Mail

2. for each ordering

a. for each activity in the ordering

-   -   i. for each non-required scheduling object        -   1. filter the list of possibilities for that scheduling            object such that it only contains the activity above        -   2. schedule using existing local search and scoring to            optimize work rules and service goal scores        -   3. if an optional scheduling object is bound, replace it            with a required            Finally, the resultant best schedule found is compared with            the initial schedule before clearing. If the initial            schedule was superior in score, it is restored.

There are cases where even if the shift activities are scheduled inchronological order, it may not be enough to handle certain deadlinegoals. For example: All work arrives at 8 am of each day. Queue 1 workmust be completed by 12 pm, queue 2 work must be completed by 4 pm,queue 3 work must be completed by 8 pm. The chronological search mayyield poor results as it will tend to schedule one unit of Queue 1 workbefore 12 pm, but because it does not know that Queue 1 is moreconstrained, it will try to schedule a unit of queue 2 or queue 3 work.

If an Employee can work many possible Activities, the list ofpermutations can be very long. In order to achieve acceptableperformance, sampling may be performed, either randomly ordering theActivity Permutations or ordering the Activity Permutations via whichActivities/Queues have the shortest service goal. Then, the first, e.g.,ten Activity Permutations are selected and the rest may be discarded.

In some implementations, a swap search 808 looks for improvements thatcould be made by swapping two existing activity blocks, as follows:

1. For each scheduled flexible block in chronological order

-   -   a. For each scheduled flexible block in chronological order        -   i. if the activity of the first block is not the same as the            second block and both employees are the same employee for            each block;        -   ii. Filter the domain of the schedulable object of the first            block to include only its current start time, but both            Activities;        -   iii. Similarly, filter the domain of the schedulable object            of the second block to include only its current start time,            but both Activities; and        -   iv. Search both schedulable objects with existing depth            first search            A performance improvement is to keep track of the two start            times and two activities for prior searches that did not            result in an improvement, so they can be excluded for future            searches.

This search finds all two-way improvements that do not affect the netamount of work being done, but results in better service levels becausethe work is each done at a different times. There may be cases where theother searches give better net amounts of Activities (e.g., the quicksearch and the chronological search), but still result in non-optimallyplaced shift activities that can be repaired with a two-way swap.

In some implementations, there may not be a concept of a primaryactivity in an understaffed deferred scenario (i.e., where it is notpossible to meet all the goals). A scoring term 1810 may be defined torepresent each of, e.g., three alternatives, and allow users to choosebetween them.

Alternative 1—Schedule to achieve service level on as many queues aspossible

When service level is zero on any interval, a push forward simulationmay be run as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,952,732. Set ascore=(E−workload completed)², where E represents a very large number.In this case, the score is considered better when the numerical value islow. This score is given higher priority than the service level scoreterm as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,952,732. This score is thencomputed for each queue in the scenario and summed. Therefore, thisscore will be better when the scheduler distributes scheduled activitytime (and indirectly work completed) evenly among the queues until aqueue achieves positive service level, where at this point the schedulerwill continue scheduling the other activities.

Alternative 2—Schedule the work on the queues that have the most work

When service level is zero on any interval, a push forward simulationmay be run, and setting a score=(workload remaining)². In this case, thescore is considered better when the numerical value is low. This scoreis given higher priority than the service level score term. This scoreis then computed for each queue in the scenario and summed. As such,this score will be better when the scheduler places all activities onthe queue with the highest backlog, until that queue achieves positiveservice level, where at this point the scheduler will switch toscheduling activities on the queue with the next highest backlog.

Alternative 3—Schedule the work proportionately to the workload on eachqueue

When service level is zero on any interval, a push forward simulationmay be run, and then setting a score=(workload completed/totalworkload)¹⁰. Again, the score is considered better when the numericalvalue is low and this score is given higher priority than the servicelevel score. This score is then computed for each queue in the scenarioand summed. As such, this score will be best when the scheduler placesall activities proportionately to the total workload that arrived oneach queue. Typically, the scheduler will place an activity on a lowvolume queue first as this will result in a big score decrease, then dueto the very high exponent (the spike penalty), the scheduler will placean activity on the next queue until the proportion on both queues areequivalent.

Thus, as described above, the scheduler 240 can enhance scheduling ofemployees where activity hopping is permitted.

Additionally or alternatively to the above, the scheduler 240 mayprovide forecasting and scheduling based on a complete end-to-endturn-around for completing all steps of a task. For example, in the backoffice, it is common for a given work item to pass through many steps,often involving many people. While each step may have its own servicelevel target, this does not account for the complete end-to-endturn-around time for completing all steps. In particular, while theforecast for a step in the process can be done by traditional means, theforecast for subsequent steps is dependent on both the forecast and theschedule of previous steps. Also, an employee can work on more than onestep, thus solving the forecasting and scheduling problem cannot be donelinearly (i.e., one cannot forecast and schedule for step one, then moveon to step two, without having to come back to step one again).

To provide for the above, in some implementations, each step of theworkflow may be represented by a queue. The queues may be linked throughVCT Queue Configuration chaining. This chaining is whatLongest-Queue-First (LQF) relies on for relationship management. Assuch, only queues that had chains defined would take part in the LQFprocess. In addition, work is not allowed to flow backwards, repeat astep, or skip steps in this phase.

LQF-related parameters in VCT Queue Configuration include:

Source event—the event on the current source queue that triggers thechain

Target event—the event that will be created when the chain is triggered

Target Queue—the queue that will receive the target event when the chainis triggered

Proportion—the size of the target effect

bundle size—the number of source events that have to be received beforethe chain is fired

lag—the time delta between when the source event or bundle is receivedand the target event is created

The queue at the top of a VCT chain tree begins with an initialforecast. Each queue has its own Service Goal. Because each queuerepresents one touch in a multi step process, these per step goals aremay be called “touch goals.” Scheduling may begin with LQF options beingselected, such as a LQF convergence delta threshold, LQF cycle countthreshold, and a LQF processing time threshold. These thresholds governhow the LQF logic determines when it should exit a convergence loop. Adelta threshold is the rate of change between the prior and currentcycle's convergence metric. A convergence score is simply the currentcycle's convergence metric. A cycle count limits how many times the LQFcalculates full cycles, and processing time limits how long the LQFprocess can run. The last two parameters prevent the LQF logic fromcontinuing endlessly if the process “orbits” convergence rather thanreaches it.

Initial values for convergence threshold parameters may halt convergenceprocessing when one of the following is true: the rate of change of theinternal convergence score between successive calculations is <10%, theprocess has completed 30 iterations, or the process has run for morethan 60 minutes.

As shown in FIG. 9, an some implementations, the LQF process includesmultiple scheduling and forecasting runs. Each scheduling/forecastingpair may be called a tier (e.g., the tier represents the level where theVCT chain(s) currently being used to forecast are located). A completeset of tiers from top to bottom is considered a cycle. A convergencescore is generated at the end of each cycle. At least two cycles arerequired before the LQF logic will consider halting.

As shown in FIG. 9, this problem may be resolved through an iterativeprocess. The optimization is done per individual task, and each task,upon being optimized, can publish a forecast of its output rate. Thisoutput rate can then be used in the following iteration for theoptimization of a different queue and a different task. After severaliterations, the process may converge. The convergence score or metricfor a given cycle is a measure of the total volatility of the currentforecasts when compared to their respective forecasts during theprevious cycle. To calculate the convergence score, deltas arecalculated at the interval level for each forecast. The deltas are thensquared and summed.

As shown in FIGS. 10-11, during forecast generation for a particulartier, each target queue is processed. For each target queue, all parentqueues are identified. Production rates by interval are calculated foreach parent queue based on interval (arrival-interval backlog delta).Production rates are then modified by the appropriate chain proportionvalue and the target queue's forecast is calculated.

In accordance with some implementations, the following VCT events may beconsidered when creating target queue forecasts: target event is anarrival, and target event is a check-in and target queue is WorkCompleted (arrival is implied). Additionally, Arrival->Arrival chainscan be modeled without a subsequent cycle as they depend on the firstqueues arrival, but not directly on the schedule. Check Out->Arrivalchains are computed similarly to Check In->Arrival chains, with theexception that they have an additional negative lag equal to the HandleTime of the Source Queue.

A sample flow based on three queues chained in series (i.e., two tiers)may be as follows:

1. LQF process initiated.

2. Schedule generated (for Q1 based on prerequisite Q1 forecast).

3. Forecast generated for Q2 based on Q1 output (intervalarrivals-backlog delta).

4. Schedule generated (Tier 1 completed).

5. Forecast generated for Q3 based on Q2 output (intervalarrivals-backlog delta), as well as Q2 from Q1.

6. Schedule generated (Tier 2 completed).

7. Cycle completed. Convergence metric calculated. Continue? Yes. Go tostep 3

8. LQF process completed.

During LQF processing, multiple scheduling passes may be executed. Uponcompletion by the scheduler 204, users may receive a singleconfiguration dialog and a single post-scheduling agenda dialog in auser interface. During scheduling, the current cycle, tier and mostrecent convergence delta may be displayed. Thus, the scheduler 240 canprovide for forecasting and scheduling for completion of all stepsassociated with a business task.

Alternatively or additionally, In some implementations, the scheduler240 may also provide for so-called “time banking,” which is also toreferred to as “annualized hours. Companies having contact centers oftenhave full time salaried employees, but have large seasonal variations intheir incoming volume. The incoming volume is work, such as call volumeand e-mails in a contact center, or insurance claims in a back office.To meet the variable load, instead of using overtime, part timeemployees, etc., companies may set up an agreement with their full timeagents to work longer hours during busy times of the year, and fewerhours during slow times of year, while ensuring that through the courseof the year that employees work the same number of hours that they wouldhave worked if they stuck to a normal set number of hours each week. Thebalancing of the hours worked may be over the entire year or based on ashorter period of time. Agents “bank” hours when they work more than thenormal amount of time, and detract from the ‘bank’ when they work lessthan the normal number of hours.

In accordance with some implementations, a time banking algorithmprovides for hires, attrition, training/transfers, and vacation for theentire time bank. A example high-level work flow is as follows:creating/optimizing a plan, scheduling the plan and tracking the plan.The plan may contain a set of weekly target hours over a period of,e.g., 6 weeks to a year, that take into consideration the seasonalvariations in incoming volume. Shift assignments may be calculated foreach employee. The shift assignments adhere to established minimum andmaximum weekly hours and meet the incoming volume forecasted in theprevious steps plan. Visual displays of the plan target hours, scheduledhours, and worked hours may be displayed to the user through graphicaldisplays and statistical reports. These displays assist the user inevaluating adherence to the original time bank Plan.

FIG. 12 illustrates processes to create, schedule and track to a timebank plan. A work hours plan for a period of time is optimized using astrategic planner (1200). A strategic planner application may create along-range plan, such as 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years, by predictingfuture conditions, the types of ongoing actions needed to meet thoseconditions, and the costs and relative effectiveness of the ongoingactions. The strategic planner may permit the user to optimize theirprojected strategic workforce plan over multiple parameters.Optimization can be based on the following parameters:

Hours per week

Vacation hours per week

Overtime hours

Retraining

Layoff plans

Hiring

The user may enter work rule constraints for the staffing profiles. Theparameters may be minimum hours per week−the minimum number of hours aprofile should work; maximum hours per week−the maximum number of hoursa profile should work; maximum overtime hours per week−the maximumnumber of overtime hours; paid hours per scenario−the exact number ofhours a profile should work for the entire scenario; and paid vacationhours per scenario−the exact number of vacation hours a profile shouldhave for the entire scenario (e.g., a default may be 160 hours).

The user may next create a forecast of the expected work flow, desiredservice levels, known information regarding shrinkage, attrition,starting work force levels and known hires. The user may also set anoptimization parameter “Hours per week” or “Hours per month” (thisdepends on if this is a weekly or monthly scenario), but may also shouldoptimize over as many parameters as possible to get the most optimizedtime bank plan. Once generated the user can view the hours for eachindividual week/month for each staffing profile, as well as hours intraining, number of hires, how many are transferring in or out, expectedattrition, vacation hours, overtime hours, and layoffs for each timeperiod.

A next step, is to create time bank (1202). The user may export thestaffing weekly/monthly hours data to be available to the scheduler 240.Exported data may have a unique name that includes the name of thestaffing profile and the start and end date of the portion of data beingexported. Exported data may be limited to be between 6 weeks and 1 year,which may be a time bank maximum.

The scheduler 240 provides an interface for the user to enter parameterssuch as employees, skill, and work rules. The scheduler 240 allowsschedulers to create campaigns with scheduling periods of, e.g., 1 to 6weeks with specific employees assigned, forecasted workloads, anddesired service goals. A scheduling algorithm uses all of this input togenerate a schedule for the employees that both meet their work rulesand their incoming volumes and goals.

The scheduler 240 also includes a time bank planning mechanism. Thescheduler 240 may provide provides a series of interfaces that assiststhe user in entering and scheduling to the time bank plan. A firstinterface may be used in initializing a time bank. A user may initializea time bank by selecting to induct the strategic planner staff profileof work hours, by importing a time bank file, by specifying an overallyearly target goal to be distributed, or by copying and pasting anexisting time bank. Once initialized the user can edit, lock and reloadvalues, to finalize their time bank plan.

The user can initialize or update an existing plan by selecting “UseStrategic Planner Plan” and then selecting one of the plans that appearsin the drop down list. The list will contain all strategic plans thatoverlap the time bank's start and end. The user can update specificportions of the time bank plan by exporting from Strategic Plannerspecific date ranges, and then loading them into that portion of thetime bank. In addition, selected base period target values may belocked, so when loading planner it will only load data into those baseperiods that are not locked.

The user can initialize or update a time bank plan by entering a singlevalue to be distributed across the base periods of the time bank. Oninitialization, this value is distributed evenly with a carryoveralgorithm to limit the weekly values to 15 minute granularity. Onupdate, this value is distributed proportionately based on the existingvalues. If the user determines that the maximum hours an employee canwork per year is changed, and the user does not want to adjusteverything, the update will be proportionately spread across the year.

The time bank may be displayed showing all the individual work hours andthe rolled up total number of values. The forecasting and scheduling mayprovide the user with a selection of tools for viewing/modifying theirdata. Intermediate periods may be defined that optionally combine baseperiods into a single rolled up value. This allows the user tovisualize/modify workers hours based on intermediate periods thatreflect their company's workload periods such as Winter, Spring, SummerFall, or a release cycle. The user has the ability to lock individualcells. When locked, the data will appear in a grayed cell and the usercan not edit the value without first unlocking. A locked cell is notupdated. When the time bank plans are complete and ready for assignmentto individual employees, they are assigned. Employees can have as manytime banks assigned to them as needed, but they may not overlap.

After the user has assigned the time banks, they are ready to be appliedto the user's scheduling (1204). The user creates a campaign that isbetween, e.g., 1 to 6 weeks long and assigns a set of employees (1206).The user then creates a forecast to reflect the work load expected forthe period, and sets desired service level goals. The scheduler 240 willwork to create a set of shift assignments to meet these forecastedvalues and goals, with the added constraint of trying to meet the timebank weekly values within this scheduling period. The scheduler 240 isalso aware of any overage or underage of the shift assignment hours todate, and will try to catch up or subtract to bring the time bank totalcloser to the expected total for the end of the scheduling period. If,after scheduling, the employee is over or under his hours for thecurrent period for the bank to date, a message may be shown in both thescheduler warning tree and any conflicts. If the time bank period for anEmployee does not fully intersect the scheduling period that is beingscheduled, a pre-scheduler warning may be shown when an Assignment Ruleperiod does not correspond to the scheduling period.

Time banks are general and may be applied to a group of employees. Theremay be scenarios where adjustments need to be made for specificemployees, for example, a new employee starting mid-time bank, or anemployee needing to take weeks of unpaid leave. In these situations, theuser will go to the campaign, select the individual employee and requesta specific number of hours be added or subtracted to the employee's timebank on that specific date. If the employee had to take 3 weeks ofunpaid leave where he was expected to work a total of 200 hours, theadjustment would be added to the first week after the 3 weeks of unpaidleave. If the employee was new and starting half way through the year,the user may want to put an adjustment at his start date to account forthe hours expected for the months prior to his hiring or transfer.

The user will be able to track the target hours, assigned paid hours,and the current balance from an employee page (1208). By selecting theemployee and the time bank tab, these values will be displayed for thebase periods, intermediate period, and time banks for all scheduledweeks. Color-coded cells may be used to reflect balances in the positive(e.g., green) or negative (e.g., red), for an easy overviewunderstanding of the status of the time bank plan. When a shiftassignment spans across a base period boundary, the whole shift lengthwill be counted towards that base period if its start date is in thebase period; otherwise, it will not be included at all for this baseperiod.

Agents and managers may be able to view and track the employee's currenttime bank information through a web interface. The agent and manager webviews show different over/under hours then the forecasting andscheduling view. Specifically, forecasting and scheduling showsover/under hours relative to the plan while the web pages showover/under hours relative to the pro-rated yearly/period total. Forexample, if the time bank target is 2000 hours a year and the weeklytargets say that the employee has an intermediate goal of 1100 hours forthe first half of the year. So far, the employee is scheduled perfectlyto his plan, so forecasting and scheduling would show that the employeeis working 1100 out of 1100 hours (0 over/under).

In the web interface, the scheduler 240 would use 1000 hours as thegoal, so the agents and managers would see that the employee is working1100 out of 1000 hours (100 hours over). This is important because theindividual employee does not care that he/she is tracking to the plan,just that there are, e.g., 100 hours “in the bank” that he/she will bescheduled off for before the end of the year.

The following data may be shown in the web interface:

Period: Start Date and End Date of the agent's current time banktemplate.

Target Hours: The total number of hours required to be worked by thisagent in the entire time bank Period.

Target Hours (up to date): The pro-rated number of hours required to beworked by this agent in the period from the beginning of the time bank,to the “up to date”, which is the end of the last fully-publishedschedule period which starts within the time bank period. The “up todate” will be shown in parentheses in the title of the time banksection. The way the pro-rated target hours is determined is as follows:

-   -   tbStartDate=Time Bank start date.    -   tbEndDate=Time Bank end date.    -   upToDate=The end of the last fully-published schedule period        which starts within the time bank period.    -   tbDuration=The number of milliseconds between tbStartDate and        tbEndDate.    -   prDuration=The number of milliseconds between tbStartDate and        upToDate.    -   ratio=prDuration/tbDuration    -   Target Hours up to date=Target Hours*ratio

Scheduled Hours (up to date): The number of scheduled hours for thisagent in the period from the beginning of the time bank, to the “up todate”, which is the end of the last fully-published schedule periodwhich starts within the time bank period.

Adjustments: Any schedule adjustments for this agent between tbStartDateand upToDate

Balance: (Scheduled Hours up to date+Adjustments)−Target Hours up todate

If the agent is currently assigned a Time Bank, then he/she will see thefollowing fields on the Agent's Summary screen: Target hours, targethours to date, scheduled hours, adjustments, and balance. For example,an agent's current time bank may be defined from 1/1/09 to 1/1/10, andit has a target of 1000 hours and 0 minutes. The agent's last publishedschedule period ends on 4/17/09, so the other columns in the table onlygo up to this date. The “Target Hours (up to 4/17/09)” column is thepro-rated target from 1/1/09 to 4/17/09. The “Scheduled Hours (up to4/17/09)” column is the number of scheduled hours from 1/1/09 to4/17/09. The “Adjusted Hours” column is the sum of the scheduled hoursand any adjustments made that are applied to base periods between 1/1/09to 4/17/09. The “Balance” column is the pro-rated target hours minus theadjusted hours. All values are displayed in the HOURS:MINUTES format.

Managers will see Time Bank data on an employee time summary page. Foreach agent, the Time Bank table will appear if the agent is currentlyassigned to a time bank. Each row in the Time Bank table will containthe current time bank data for a particular agent. The manager will seethe current time bank name in a new column. The manager's “Adjustments”column will contain an icon that brings up the “Adjustments” dialog forthat employee, where the manager can add/edit schedule adjustments forthat employee, just like in the forecasting and scheduling. The managerwill also have the ability to import a set of adjustment specifyingemployee, date of adjustment, and the adjustment value. The web clientwill be able to filter their employee displays by a range of time bankbalances. This will allow the manager to easily see how many employeeshe may have that may have time bank balance concerns.

The web client may provide a time bank report that includes a “StaffingReports” topic that has a report called “Employee Time Banks.” Thereport is similar to the manager's Time Bank screen in the web interfacedescribed earlier, however, the report will show both scheduled andactual hours. In addition, the report output will contain one sectionper employee, and each section will contain a row for each of theemployee's time banks that fall in the specified date range. Anemployee's time bank rows will be sorted by time bank start date.Finally, the employee sections will be sorted by employee name.

Thus, as described above, the present disclosure provides for a fullyintegrated time banking integration. Users will be able to create theirtime bank plan using optimization algorithms based on all employeefactors, from work hours, new hires, attrition, as well as forecastedincoming volume. It provides extensive tools to modify or reuse the timebank plan. It incorporates the time bank constraints into an advancedscheduling system that takes into consideration not only the time bankplan, but also any manual adjustments made during the time bank period,and automatic adjustments for current underage or overage of anemployee's time bank hours. In addition, it provides integrated userdisplays and reports that allow the agent or manager to monitor the timebank balance and make adjustments. This invention is not a side reportor spreadsheet of some forecasting software, it is a fully integratedkey component of the whole WFO solution

FIG. 13 is a hardware block diagram of a general-purpose computer 1300which can be used to implement various embodiments of systems andmethods for automatic scheduling of a workforce. 1300 contains a numberof components that are well known in the art of contact center software,including a processor 1310, a network interface 1320, memory 1330, andstorage device 1340. Examples of storage device 1340 include, forexample, a hard disk, flash RAM, flash ROM, and EEPROM. These componentsare coupled via a bus 1350. Memory 1330 contains instructions which,when executed by the processor 1310, implement systems and methods forautomatic scheduling of a workforce, such as the processes depicted inthe diagrams of FIGS. 1-12. Omitted from FIG. 13 are a number ofconventional components that are unnecessary to explain the operation of1310.

The systems and methods for automatic scheduling of a workforce can beimplemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. In someembodiments, the system and/or method is implemented in software that isstored in a memory and that is executed by a suitable microprocessor(μP) situated in a computing device. However, the systems and methodscan be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.Such instruction execution systems include any computer-based system,processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch and executethe instructions from the instruction execution system. In the contextof this disclosure, a “computer-readable medium” can be any means thatcan contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program foruse by, or in connection with, the instruction execution system. Thecomputer readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, asystem or propagation medium that is based on electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor technology.

Specific examples of a computer-readable medium using electronictechnology would include (but are not limited to) the following: anelectrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires; a randomaccess memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM); an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory). A specific example usingmagnetic technology includes (but is not limited to) a portable computerdiskette. Specific examples using optical technology include (but arenot limited to): an optical fiber; and a portable compact disk read-onlymemory (CD-ROM). In addition, the functionality could be implemented inlogic embodied in hardware or software-configured media.

Any process descriptions or blocks in flowcharts should be understood asrepresenting modules, segments, or portions of code that include one ormore executable instructions for implementing specific logical functionsor steps in the process. As would be understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art of the software development, alternate embodiments arealso included within the scope of the disclosure. In these alternateembodiments, functions may be executed out of order from that shown ordiscussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order,depending on the functionality involved.

This description has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thedisclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Obvious modifications orvariations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodimentsdiscussed, however, were chosen to illustrate the principles of thedisclosure, and its practical application. The disclosure is thusintended to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to use thedisclosure, in various embodiments and with various modifications, asare suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modificationsand variation are within the scope of this disclosure, as determined bythe appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth towhich they are fairly and legally entitled.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of workforce scheduling, comprising:receiving a shift activity template describing at least one workeractivity performed during a shift, the template having a range of starttimes and a variable length for the at least one activity, the at leastone activity being associated with a queue that has varying incomingvolumes at different times and varying goals such that some workassociated with the queue needs to be completed before other workassociated with the queue, the shift activity having at least oneactivity being designated as a flexible activity; receiving anassociation between the shift activity template and at least one worker,and scheduling a plurality of schedulable objects using heuristicsearches in accordance with a workload forecast and scheduleconstraints, each of the schedulable objects being based on the shiftactivity template.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the heuristicsearches comprise one of a quick search, chronological search, activityoriented search and a swap search.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thequick search comprises: creating, for each shift activity template, amaximum count of schedulable objects, where each schedulable objectcontains a list of possibilities consisting of every start-time/activitypair given a start time window defined in the shift activity, a shiftlength, a list of flexible activities defined in the shift activity, andskills of an employee; ordering the scheduling objects such thatnon-required objects are first; and scheduling for each employee usingan existing local search and scoring, to optimize work rules and servicegoal scores.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the chronological searchcomprises: selecting a non-required scheduling object; filtering a listof possibilities for that scheduling object such that it only contains astart chronologically ordered start time; scheduling using an existinglocal search and scoring to optimize work rules and service goal scores;and if an optional scheduling object is bound, replacing it with arequired scheduling object.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein theactivity ordered search comprises: creating a list of possible activityorderings; and for each ordering, each activity in the ordering andnon-required scheduling object, filtering the list of possible activityorderings for that scheduling object such that it only contains theactivity in the ordering; scheduling using an existing local search andscoring to optimize work rules and service goal scores; and if anoptional scheduling object is bound, replacing it with a requiredscheduling object.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the swap searchcomprises:] swaping two activity blocks where an activity of a firstblock is not the same as an activity of a second block and employeesassociated with the first block and the second block are the same; andcomparing a performance improvement based on the swaping.
 7. The methodof claim 1, further comprising determining a score that represents oneof plural alternatives, where the alternatives include scheduling toachieve service level on as many queues as possible, scheduling work onthe queues that have the most work, and scheduling work proportionatelyto the workload on each queue.
 8. A method of workforce scheduling,comprising: receiving a shift activity template describing at least oneworker activity performed during a shift, the template having a range ofstart times and a variable length for the at least one activity;receiving an association between the shift activity template and atleast one worker; defining a time bank of weekly target hours for the atleast one worker over a predetermined period; and scheduling a pluralityof schedulable objects associated with the at least one worker inaccordance with a workload forecast, schedule constraints and the timebank.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: defining plural timebanks for the at least one worker; and assigning one of the time banksof the at least one worker in accordance with the workload forecast. 10.The method of claim 8, further comprising scheduling the at least oneworker within a campaign having a duration of the predetermined period.11. The method of claim 10, further comprising tracking hours worked bythe at least one worker during the campaign.
 12. The method of claim 8,further comprising projecting the workload forecast in accordance withan hours per week worked by employees, vacation hours per week taken byemployees, overtime hours, retraining time, layoff plans and hiringplans.
 13. The method of claim 8, further comprising definingintermediate periods within the time bank to reflect workload forecastshaving a duration less than the predetermined period.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the duration is associated with a seasonal adjustmentor product release.
 55. A method of workforce scheduling, comprising:receiving a shift activity template describing at least one workeractivity performed during a shift, the template having a range of starttimes and a variable length for the at least one activity, the at leastone activity being associated with a first queue that is based on asecond queue; receiving an association between the shift activitytemplate and at least one worker; and scheduling a plurality ofschedulable objects in accordance with a workload forecast of the firstqueue and a schedule of the second queue.
 16. The method of claim 15,further comprising interactively scheduling the plurality of schedulableobjects for subsequent queues.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein thefirst queue and the second queue are defined as a tier, and wherein thesubsequent queues are layered in tiers to create a cycle.
 18. The methodof claim 17, wherein the tiers within the cycle converge to create ascore.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the convergence of the cycleis set in accordance with a cycle delta threshold, a cycle countthreshold and a processing time threshold.
 20. The method of claim 15,wherein a production rate of second queue is modifying by a chainproportion value in generating a forecast of the first queue.